1, June 2020
France: Ligue 1 presidents slam ‘brutal’ move to end season 0
Some of the French Ligue 1’s club presidents joined forces on Monday to criticise the decision in April to declare the season over due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said five week ago the campaign could not restart but Germany’s Bundesliga has resumed while Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A and England’s Premier League are set to follow suit by the end of this month.
“Start of April, we were the only league among Europe’s big five to propose the restart of the season,” Nantes’ Waldemar Kita said in a statement by Premiere Ligue, a union of the league’s chiefs.
“We were ahead of time, we were mocked. We were the motor and the other countries followed us later. But unfortunately, we stayed in the same spot,” Kita added.
Lille’s Gerard Lopez said the move was “pretty brutal”.
“We keep saying that we’re trying to catch up on the other four big leagues and then we make a rod for our own backs at a key moment.
“We’re all alone. It might be in France that football is not at the same level as other countries,” he added.
Saint-Etienne’s Bernard Caiazzo, who is the head of the body, pointed the finger solely at politicians.
“We’re not responsible, those who are responsible are the Prime Minister and the government. They have information we don’t have,” Caiazzo said.
“You could ask if the government decided too quickly. Was there a discussion with the clubs? No. Was there a discussion with other countries? No,” he added.
Lyon, whose chief Jean-Michel Aulas has been vociferous since the April 30 decision with his side set to miss out on Europe next season, and relegated Amiens will challenge the decision at France’s highest administrative court on June 4.
Bottom side Toulouse are among other clubs expected to appeal.
Source: AFP
14, June 2020
Messi on target as Barcelona return to action with thumping 4-0 win 0
Lionel Messi scored and grabbed two assists as La Liga leaders Barcelona eased to a 4-0 win away to struggling Real Mallorca on Saturday, making the perfect return to action after Spanish football’s three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The champions got off to a flying start when Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal scored with a diving header in the second minute, while Danish international Martin Braithwaite scored his first goal for Barca later in the first half.
Jordi Alba then added a third goal for Barca in the 79th minute after latching on to a through ball from Messi, who had also set up Braithwaite’s goal with a header.
The Argentine then completed the scoring with a deflected strike in stoppage time, netting 20 league goals for the 12th season in a row.
The win takes Barca on to 61 points after 28 games, five clear of nearest challengers Real Madrid, who host Eibar on Sunday in their first game back.
“We controlled the game and it was a great performance after not competing for three months,” goalscorer Alba said.
“We now have 10 must-win games to go and we are really looking forward to them.”
The game was played behind closed doors to prevent further spread of the novel coronavirus, but a fan wearing an Argentina shirt somehow made it on to the pitch, only to be swiftly taken away by security guards.
Luis Suarez made his first appearance since injuring his knee six months ago, coming off the bench in the second half, while his fellow Uruguayan Ronald Araujo hit the post shortly before Alba struck.
Mallorca occupy the final relegation spot in La Liga but despite the heavy loss they gave a decent account of themselves, with 19-year-old Japanese playmaker Takefusa Kubo pulling the strings.
Kubo tested Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the first half while Ante Budimir, Lago Junior and Abdon Prats all flashed shots just wide of the target after the interval.
(REUTERS)